HM Gov telling us to get tinned food and bottled water?

[DecisionTime123]

Call me old fashioned, but isn't this sort of thing likely to provoke a run on toilet rolls? Couldnt find any other threads on it, but I think there is a "preppers" topic on here somewhere. In any case, what do you think? I'm sort of concerned, should I be? Or has this gone under the radar?

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/aug/25/uk-to-warn-citizens-to-stock-up-on-food-amid-threat-from-climate-crisis-and-hostile-states

you may not! round me its not unusual to get 6 to 8 hours. Its much more comfortable to be able to have a hot drink and a hot meal especially in winter where no power means no heat or hot water...and also of course no light. Surely doing a bit of minor prep should make you less anxious not more?

It’s up to you. You can do what you want, obviously. I would do something about being anxious about buying some water and extra food though, because it’s not normal. If anything it should make you a bit safer. Where I live we are expected to be able to help yourself and also other people. Nothing to feel upset about.

this

Too late to edit, but if you really are that anxious maybe this would actually help. Frame it like you would feel good for being able to help other vulnerable people apart from yourself, friends or family? I don’t know, just a suggestion.

its actually a recognised coping strategy

I haven’t said I’m too anxious to do it. I’m explained in a long thread why some might Find this thread anxiously inducing.

I don’t give a shit. I could survive a 7 day power cut without prepping too.

As I said, you’ve not understood the posts. I have not said I am anxious at any point .

When we had a 3 day power cut, that was the mains. Within 36 hours we had generators at every corner.
Everyone I know had something to eat, water, and something to see by. A few people in rental flats with only electric supply couldn't cook but they still had food.
That is the longest power cut I've ever experienced in my nearly 60 years, in the UK. In the 70s we didn't have electricity some evenings and I did my homework by candlelight.

I've lived places where the power and the water have been off more than on. You don't "prep", you run a bucket of water to use later, and buy a box of matches with your usual shopping.
If you live somewhere without mains water or electricity you buy a kerosene lamp and some water barrels.

To jump from "nobody is as polite as they were when I was young" to "we're about to have 3 day power and water cuts" is catastrophising and it isn't good for your mental health.

Well yes but that happened because people had made preparation without even thinking about it. The kerosene and water barrels didn't magically appear. Someone made sure there were candles in the house. I don't think anyone on here who is in support of being ready for....lets call them "hiccups" in utility supply is catastrophising. I bet the folk at Whaley Bridge ,who had to leave their houses without so much as a pair of clean knickers, (yes one lady said that on TV) wished they had some minimal prep already done that they could just pick up and go.

You’re misunderstood the post again 😂

Is it?

yup.

As pp said Im not sure what some tins & bottles will do if the shit hits the fan.

As gets said on here whenever someone makes a variant of that argument, it's about being as comfortable as possible if something short of the shit hitting the fan but meaning you don’t have the normal access to necessities happens. I've no interest in, say, surviving a nuke. But I do like the idea of not having to spend hours queuing for emergency supplies if Russia manage to arse up the supermarket supply chain or whatever for a few days.

You haven't read the post.
The only people with kerosene and water barrels never have mains water or electricity.
When we had our major power cut people asked friends, went to other people's houses, or used their normal supplies. We used the wood we already had for normal purposes to keep our living room warm.
We had not "prepped" anything, we just had things in like we normally do.

Ok sorry for short reply, was doing something else. 😂 But interesting, I will actually look it up then!

It will only distract those of you that are only capable of holding one thought in your head at a time.

what shit do you mean @mypoorgrass
we aren't talking about a nuclear bomb; we're talking about a disruption to the supply chain for a week or so.
Many people don't have a supply of food to last a few days. Or, food that can be heated /cooked on a camping stove.

It's just basic common sense to be prepared for a cyber attack that may affect food, water, banking, travel , communications.

TBH the government are guilty of underplaying this - presumably to avoid panic buying.

MI5 /MI6 are dealing with cyber threats every day. We just don't hear of them.
One day ,one country will get lucky.

As well as cyber threats I imagine the government are trying to make sure people are prepared for the mega el nino that is meant to happen this winter.

I'm in a city and can walk to the shops, but people more rurally might have roads blocked for a few hours by falling branches etc.

We live 6 miles from the nearest shop which, although not that far, can be impossible to get to in some circumstances.

Two years ago we had very bad flooding in our area and could not get more than a couple of yards down our road either way because the water was too deep. I never thought our area would flood because we live at the top of a hill but it was all the water running off the fields.

Believe me the government don't just magic water up during a period of no water. Took us 24 hours to get bottles, and then it was 2l each for first 24 hours. Shops were emptied of all drinks, things like yogurts and tinned fruit, veg and beans.

I'd rather have my camping stove where I can make a hor drink, soup, pasta meal. 24 hours in a stone cold house with nothing warming isn't fun.

We may not be able to deal with a major long-term emergency, but we can make it more comfortable for ourselves without impact on others, ie panic buying for example.

Not a lot. But as others have said we don't have to be prepping for a Doomsday scenario. A few tins and bottles may help though if bad weather hits or you get ill and can't get to the shops.

One country already did get lucky. The IRGC apparently caused a power plant shutdown back in July with a cyber attack (only just being admitted by the govt now, I guess I can understand why). It was shut down for 4 days. This is likely why we're being urged to 'prepare', what with Russia likely to do the same.

https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/uk/2026/08/24/uk-energy-alert-issued-after-iranian-cyber-attack-on-power-plant/

I would prep for at least a week, not just 3 days, if you can.

@GentleSheep why would the IRG target us ? Are they working with Russia ?

oh you just reminded me. its a good few years ago now that we had an icy christmas here. It was immense fun because we live on a hill that doesn't get gritted and were in the middle of getting a new kitchen which had overrun a bit because kitchens do that. Luckily the cooker was in and connected but the tiler couldn't get out of his road, also hilly. My car was parked round the corner a bit downhill because we'd had a skip and the tradies vans in out parking. It was a 4x4 so DH said he's take it instead of his to go out and get a few bits and I could stay home with the dogs. Well he came crawling (literally) back. Had got halfway to the car and gone down on his bum, nothing to pull himself up on so he'd had to crawl home! Fortunately we had already done the christmas shop so we just hunkered down. A friend who lived further down the hill from us (the estate is on a hill and the hill runs down to the exit to the main road) got out of her drive okay but lost control on the ungritted road and slid down the hill ending up right across the main road broadside on. Can't remember how she got home.